Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Christine Aldridge and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net Transcriber's Notes: 1. Passages in italics are surrounded by _underscores_. 2. This transcription uses the caret ^ symbol to indicate superscripted text, and {curly brackets} around multi-character superscripts. A SELECT COLLECTION OF OLD ENGLISH PLAYS. ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY ROBERT DODSLEY IN THE YEAR 1744. _FOURTH EDITION_, NOW FIRST CHRONOLOGICALLY ARRANGED, REVISED AND ENLARGED WITH THE NOTES OF ALL THE COMMENTATORS, AND NEW NOTES BY W. CAREW HAZLITT. BENJAMIN BLOM, INC. New York First published 1874-1876 Reissued 1964 by Benjamin Blom, Inc. L.C. Catalog Card No.: 64-14702 _Printed in U.S.A. by_ NOBLE OFFSET PRINTERS, INC. NEW YORK 3, N. Y. CONTENTS Page THE REBELLION 1 LUST'S DOMINION or THE LASCIVIOUS QUEEN 93 ANDROMANA or THE MERCHANT'S WIFE 193 LADY ALIMONY 273 THE PARSON'S WEDDING 369 THE REBELLION. _EDITION._ _The Rebellion; a Tragedy: As it was acted nine dayes together, and divers times since, with good applause, by his Majesties Company of Revells. Written by Thomas Rawlins. London: Printed by I. Okes, for Daniell Frere, and are to be sold at the Signe of the Red Bull in Little Brittaine._ 1640, 4^o.[1] INTRODUCTION. THOMAS RAWLINS, author of "The Rebellion," was a medallist by profession, and afterwards became an engraver of the Mint, a vocation which, in his preface, he prefers to the threadbare occupation of a poet. [He also employed his talents occasionally in engraving frontispieces and portraits for books, of which several signed specimens are known.[2] It is said that he died in 1670.] It is an argument, as well of his personal respectability, as of his easy circumstances, that no fewer than eleven copies of prefatory verses, by the wits of the time, are prefixed to the old edition. Notwithstanding the popularity of the piece, [which, as it appears from the introductory poems, was composed by Rawlins in early life,] and several passages of real merit, it was [only once] republished, perhaps because rebellion soon assumed the whole kingdom for its stage. [Besides his play, Rawlins published in 1648 an octavo volume of poems, written also in his youth, under the title of "Calanthe."[3]] TO THE WORSHIPFUL, AND HIS HONOURED KINSMAN, ROBERT DUCIE,[4] OF ASTON, IN THE COUNTY OF STAFFORD, ESQUIRE; SON TO SIR R. DUCIE, KNIGHT AND BARONET, DECEASED.